Love of Steel
by 7Hotaru7
Summary: The AX is no more. Tres and Lady Caterina have gone to the Orden. Can Tres' former partner save them both from the destructive darkness? Sequel to Heart of Iron.
1. Chapter 1

Thick globs of water spilt over her eyelids. Frantically she ran her grimy hand over her tear stained face, only to smear the soot around. The tears, never ceasing, obscured her vision of the utter chaos and destruction before her. Her black eyes scoured the burnt and broken landscape that was once Paris.  
Zelda, the former nun and AX member ran blindly through the rubble. Jagged, upturned pieces of concrete and metal ripped her dark dress and scraped her already injured skin. Endless was the demolition. In every which way she turned the horizon lay shattered and ugly. Time was just as warped as the ground and she had been going on in a directionless way forever.

In mid run she stopped and sank to her knees in defeat. She threw her head back and screamed from the depths of her soul. Her throat constricted and cut off her wordless cry. Tears, sweat and dirt caused her dark brown hair to stick to her face and neck. Her bangs clung to her eyes becoming a blinder to everything around her.

"Why?" Her raw vocal cords rasped. "…WHY??!"

Off in the distance she heard a rumbling. Her head jerked up in fear of another attack. Panic overwhelmed her senses, causing her eyes to become unfocused and yank wildly around.

A dark clad figure rounded the corner; Zelda's twitching eyes landed on it and paused. Her breath stopped and her heart ceased to beat. The man was garbed in a Rozen Kreuz Orden outfit and hat. His red hair had been shaved and his left eye glowed ruby.

_Tres…_She thought, the name came unbidden from her subconscious. He turned as if she had called him verbally. Tentatively she stretched out her shaking hand and tried to push herself up off the ground.

"Tr-" A bullet ripped through her right shoulder as her lips were beginning to form his name. Agony. Burning. Mind destroying. Pain. Whatever physical torture she had endured before was nothing compared to this. Bar none.

Thankfully she didn't have to endure it long, the wound and the haunting cold look of her former partner staring down at her. Within seconds Zelda's mind liberated itself and shut down.


	2. Chapter 2

Zelda awoke in darkness.

Of course, that wasn't something unusual lately. She had begun to despise the light kept her room perpetually night. Stinging nerves sent her brain a message that she was still injured. Weakly she reached over to grip her throbbing arm.

The door creaked open, a sliver of golden beams cut through the undisturbed, lightless room. A familiar head popped in, "Oh, you're awake!"

"Yes, Professor," she slowly turned her head in his direction.

The dark, wavy haired man with an unlit pipe hanging from his mouth entered. He carried a small candle in with him. Sighing he set it down on a small table, the only other object there besides the bed. "Zelda-san. If I weren't me, I would ask you how you came by that wound. But, I know very well the shape of the bullet that nearly took your arm." She looked away at his words. "Does it hurt even more now that you've seen-"

"Stop!" She winced.

He sighed again, "Very well. I won't say anymore but it isn't good to hold everything in. Anyway, if you want someone to listen to you later on, people have told me I would have been a great shrink!"

Not long ago she might have smiled and thanked him but instead she sat up in her bed, "Professor, my arm will be fine by the time 'that' comes around. I'll be able to finish that job efficiently."

"You really shouldn't push yourself like that. It's not healthy for you; you'll only ruin your body more."

"Thank you," Zelda whispered, beginning to feel the effects of seeing Tres once again.

He noticed what was going on and decided to quietly slip out of the room. Memories flooded her mind although she was unwilling. In the forefront was the one that reeked havoc in her dreams, turning them into nightmares. It was of the night they left. When he left. When she died, never to reawaken fully as before.

_Zelda swatted at her ruined, tattered white hem of her nun's habit. "If only you hadn't gotten caught on that fence post and that carriage and in that dog's teeth, I wouldn't be two hours late! Lady Caterina will have wondered if I died and lost all the papers I just copied."_

_Gazing up into the twinkling night sky she smiled in spite of herself. In was a nice night, a quiet night. It was so silent without anyone else around. Yet when she reached the corridor to her superior's office her pleasant feelings evaporated. She should have met up with someone by then._

_At that moment her tovares appeared out of the Duchess' office. She laughed in relief, "Ah! Thank goodness! I'm so glad to see you Tres! For some strange reason I had been a bit scared back there… Tres?"_

_He stopped in front of her but didn't do anything, not even look at her._

_"…Tres?"_

_He raised his gun up to her face. Shock, confusion and fear shot through her. He stated, "We are no longer partners. We are enemies. Positive. Do not follow me or I will eliminate you."_

_As her brain was trying to comprehend this, her instincts awakened. She ducked and ran past him but only far enough to barely nudge the door handle._

_The door opened half an inch, revealing a small glimpse of Lady Caterina. Her long, streaming, blonde curls were free of the garnet Cardinal hat she usually wore. The duchess' eyes slid over to glance at the young nun._

_Zelda felt the sharp jab of Tres' gun hitting against her head. Everything went black and her life, as she knew it, changed._

She curled up into a tight ball, the feelings of being hated caused shortness of breath. Clutching her heart she tried to think of better things. Images of distant fun and laughter flickered in her mind. Closing her eyes, she decided to let one come.

_"Tres!" smiling pink lips called his name._

_Abel, Leon and Tres were at the end of the corridor. Turning, the priest with the silver, shining hair asked, "What is that you have in your hand Zelda-san?"_

_She held it up, "It's a bouquet of flowers! They're for Tres! It's Valentine's Day and I hear you have to give the person you love, roses."_

_Leon, the community service priest, stared down at her. "Uh… kid, that's what the _guy_ is supposed to do. Not the girl."_

_"Oh," Zelda glanced sadly at the bouquet. Gunslinger reached down and took the flowers from her hands. He took one out and gave it back to her. Her smile returned when she understood what he was doing._

_Leon muttered, "Tch, what a cheap guy. Giving the girl a flower that she bought."_

_"At least she's happy with it. Not all girls are like the ones you date," Abel watched them._

_"Oh? You mean like- Ester?"_

_He choked on the air he was breathing, "I didn't mean her! And I've been meaning to talk to you about that…"_

The smallest smile appeared on Zelda's face, but it was soon replaced by tears that never ceased when she was alone. "Tres…" she whispered into her wet pillow, allowing the pain to swallow her whole.


	3. Chapter 3

_"Zelda-san, what did you think when you first met Tres?" Abel walked down the hall with her._

_She stopped. "Please don't tell Tres this. Just keep it to yourself but…"_

_"What was it???" he asked eagerly- obviously bored with everything else around him._

_She lowered her voice, "I thought… 'Wow! He IS short!!!'"_

_"Ahaha! You're right; he is very small. Did you know he weighs 440 lbs?!"_

_"That's like a small elephant!" She placed her hand on her cheek._

_"It is! Ahahahahah- o-oh, hello Tres-kun, I didn't see you there!" Abel stopped laughing and waved slightly. Zelda turned around slowly in horror. Yet sure enough, there was her partner in all his 5'5 glory. He didn't look at her; he didn't say anything but the empty silence that was there plagued her with guilt._

_"Father Nightroad, Caterina-sama has another mission for you. Prepare immediately," he stated to Abel._

_"Again? But I just got back!" He whined and slumped away._

_Gunslinger likewise began to go back to his duties. She hugged him from behind while he was still walking so her feet dragged along the ground. Crying, she pleaded, "Forgive me Tres! I wasn't making fun of you! I love your height and your weight! You're perfect for my 5'1! I don't want a man that's 6 foot and towers over me! I like how you're just where I can reach you!" He didn't say anything. "And your weight! I love small elephants! I've never seen one… but you're the closest thing in weight so I love you!"_

_The Professor, who had heard this last statement of love, shook his head. "You aren't a very comforting individual are you?"_

_"Tres! Don't hate me! I love youuuuu!!!!!!"_

Zelda jerked up in her bed, ignoring the faint pain in her shoulder. Shaking her head, breathing heavily, she placed her warm feet against the cool floor. A bead of sweat rolled down her forehead and off her nose. Staggering, she pulled herself to the door and opened it. A dim light in the corridor woke her up from her mental anguish. Slowly, she straightened her back, righting her posture. She brushed her damp hair out of her face and cleared her throat.

Her bare feet slapped the concrete of what could be called as an underground lair. The Professor had built it secretly in his spare time after an incident concerning two imperial nobles and the Rozen Kreuz Orden. Even in her depressed state, she respected how much time and effort went into building this. Although rather small, it held three tiny bedrooms, a lab for William- which he lived in- and halls to connect them together.

Reaching the laboratory, Zelda pressed on her outfit as if to wipe away the wrinkles. She pushed open the door to see the Professor hard at work and Leon hanging out, leaning against the desk.

"So you finally see the light of day, huh?" the corners of Dandelion's mouth curled slightly.

William interrupted, "You shouldn't be saying anything. If I remember correctly, who's the escaped convict that's been hiding underground for four months?"

He frowned but said nothing. Shortly after she had been knocked unconscious by Tres' gun, Professor found her and quickly informed her how to sneak Leon out of jail. Since the disbanding of the AX was still fresh, not many people would have known. So he forged a note that Zelda delivered to the jail, bailed Leon out and made a run for it. After he was safely hidden away, she hung up her habit and quit being a nun.

The Professor was to keep up a life as a priest during the daytime and by night sneak down into his hideout to plan ways to stop the Orden. Vaclav remained solely a priest and minded his own business after Lady Caterina's decision. Sister Kate and the Iron Maiden were still being utilized for the Department of Inquiry's use. Hughe disappeared entirely.

It was strange that the AX was gone. The AX was her family and now it was broken, shattered into little pieces. All the shards were scattered in different directions. Was it even possible to put them together again? Could Zelda even try?

"Tomorrow," the Professor said suddenly.

"What?"

He looked up, face set. "I found a base. We're going in tomorrow."

"You mean…."

"Yes, we're going to go in and stop them. Once and for all."

Leon scratched his head, "How are we going to do that?"

"We kill their leader, Kain."

For a few moments, no one breathed, let alone spoke.

"We're going to kill a Crusnik," Zelda stated.

"It's suicide! Are you crazy??!!" Dandelion shouted. "That's the most stu-!"

"Well, think about it. Has anything else we've tried, worked? This is the fastest and most clean way to end this. No loss of innocent civilian lives, the Orden will lose hope and world has been rid of its enemy. Whatever you do, no matter how many plans of theirs you destroy, they will continue to push for their goal."

… "So, how do plan on getting into their base or near Kain? How do you know he's even there???"

"I don't know."'

"You're risking our lives in this chance gamble?!"

The Professor's eyes were ringed and they stood out strongly now. "This is the first time we have ever found one of their bases; we just can't miss this opportunity."

"Great, this is great," he kicked the trash can over in a spurt of anger.

Zelda sighed, "I guess since we're all in, we wake up around five, ready our weapons and go?"

Leon shook his head, "Yeah, might as well forget sleep and experience time on your last day to live."

She sighed again and murmured, "We're going to kill a Crusnik."


	4. Chapter 4

"This is it?" Leon peered up at the cathedral through thick, dusty glasses. "Their base is in a church?!"

"They probably find it funny and ironic. Besides, who would think of them being here?" The Professor gazed up at its dark and forbidding spires that scraped the clear blue sky. It was an abandoned church on the outskirts of a small city in former Germany. It was a place big enough where no one would notice any activity in the church, but small enough where no one would come near it.

The wind whispered warningly in Zelda's ear. _Turn back!… Turn back!… Don't go!… …Suffering only awaits you there!…_ It tugged cruelly on her clothes, grasping at her with wiry claws. Its pitch traveled several octaves, howling its curse at the old building.

Dandelion tried to hold onto his disguise, "Where did this wind come from?!"

The words 'Let's go back' were on her lips, but she swallowed her voice to keep from showing her fear.

"Go to the side, there should be a small hatch that leads into the courtyard!" The Professor yelled over the noise. Obeying, they darted into the surrounding woods.

Leon removed his outfit- he was still an escaped convict- and scratched his head in a complaining manor. "Geez, we come with hardly a plan but to find a guy who may not even be here, with just a few weapons, on a bright clear day with 100 visibility and we have no idea who else is inside."

"You put all those facts together in a negative way but make it sound so lighthearted," Zelda commented.

"Yeah, I do, don't I? Wait a second, is THAT the door that's going to get us inside??!!" he pointed at a two foot wide, rusted, dirty, vine covered hatch in the wall.

"Yes it is." William appeared behind them.

"Do you believe that I can fit through that??!! Do the mathematics! The size of that thing does not equal the size of me!"

"You're going in and that's final."

"Tch, I'm not and you can't make me 'Nerdsworth'."

---

"I hate you." Leon glared up at the Professor and Zelda, who were already on the other side of the wall. He, to the others amusement, did manage to get stuck in the hatch. His upper torso was in the court yard while his lower half was outside. They were in the process of pulling him through when somebody met up with them.

"Tres?!" Zelda stopped tugging at her friend and turned towards the man who came in on the other side of the yard.

"See?!! This is what happens when you have stupid plans!!! Someone's come to kill us and I'm in a wall!! They probably were taking their time to get here too-"

"Quiet," Professor pulled out a small gun, closed his eyes and randomly fired. Part of the wall fell away, allowing Leon to come free.

He scrambled to his feet, "You shot at me with your eyes closed!! You could have killed me!!"

"Tres…" Zelda gulped and tried to calm her heart. She thought,_ This is not the time to be thinking anything, anything at all. He is now your enemy. You must protect your friends… _Slowly, and evenly she spoke without looking behind her, "I'll handle this, you guys go on ahead."

"Kid…" Dandelion trailed off.

William nodded silently and secretly put a small object in one of her hands, "We'll leave it to you then." They ran in the opposite direction, leaving the two to face each other.

"Do you intend on fighting me Zelda Bäcker?" Tres' voice carried over to her ears. She nearly died at hearing his voice once again but by sheer willpower, kept herself in check.

"So be it," he took her inability to say anything as a yes. He pulled out his guns as she weaved her way towards him.

Firing off rounds, he asked, "Why don't you fight me seriously, Zelda Bäcker?"

A bullet whizzed past her ear, "I could ask you the same thing." She pushed off on her left foot with all of her strength to cover the rest of space between them. Zelda jumped through his guns and his outstretched arms to land in a hug-like position against his chest. She felt like crying because this was how she used to hug him.

For one second he hesitated to turn his guns inward and finish the fight, but she took that chance for the final strike. Looping her arms around him, she injected the vial that the Professor had slipped her.

The guns fell from Tres' hands and his eyes widened slightly. Agonizingly, she explained, "The Professor made these Nanites. They were created to wipe out your system. I'm sorry. Tres, I'm so sorry!!!" Tears streaked down her face and she gripped him tighter.

"Forgive me," she gave him a small kiss. "Please." As the Nanites took their toll, his metal frame leaned forward and rested against hers. "Please don't hate me," was the last thing he heard. Weeping, she laid him on the ground and shut his eyes.

A few minutes later she brushed away her tears, removed the vial, pocketed it and sprinted away in the direction of the others.


	5. Chapter 5

"You can't be serious?!" The Professor shouted at the former Duchess of Milan.

She replied solemnly, "But I am."

Zelda shoved open the large, thunderous doors and ran into the sanctuary. Caterina was standing below a large statue of the Mother Mary near the front while William and Leon were back a few pews, arguing from the aisle.

Dandelion's mouth gritted, "The Empress!"

"She's obviously stronger than you think; otherwise your plans would have worked a long time ago. Do you really believe that she is so easy to kill?" The Professor asked, eyes hard.

She tossed a lone, thick ringlet behind her, "Do you think that our leader, Kain-sama, is weak as well? Isn't that why you came here today? To kill him?"

Leon cursed.

"Besides, to kill a Crusnik… you'll need an even stronger Crusnik to tell you how to do it."

"Kain's going to _let_ you go up against her?! He wants his puppets to die for this??!"

Her eyebrows twitched at the word 'puppet' and she turned away from them. "This conversation is over." She held her hand up to her ear, "Tres. …Tres, respond. ….Tres where are you??"

Zelda's hand gripped and she stared down at the floor, "Tres will not be coming."

Caterina twisted around, "What?"

"He's dead."

The Orden member's eyes narrowed and she backed away. "Now that you all know our plans, you cannot be allowed to leave. The building will be destroyed in two minutes… with you three still inside. Goodbye." She continued to step back until the smirking, mocking shadows swallowed her in a Kämpher-like style.

Leon ran for the doors but found they were barred from the outside. "What are we gonna do?"

The black eyed girl whispered harshly, "Don't worry." A dark gray mass appeared from under her skin, covering her body in a full armor. She grabbed them by the collars and lunged at the door. Every time her foot hit the ground, the concrete would break and shatter into pieces resembling a spider's web. She put all of her force into her head and chest as to keep the others from becoming injured.

On contact, the thick oak splintered into a million pieces, littering the air with shards of wood. Zelda ran through them quickly, unaffected. Through the courtyard, she went. Tres' body was gone but she couldn't think about that now.

When she arrived at the hatch, instead of shoving them through, she kicked the bricks that were still left from William's shot. Behind her, an explosion rocked the ground. Instinctly, she threw them on the ground and used herself as a shield from flying debris until the dust had settled.

---

"I remember when I had convinced nearly all the nuns at the Vatican that the reason Gunslinger was so stiff was because he had never been hugged as a child," Leon reminisced back in the laboratory. "They would bake him cookies and give him hugs whenever they saw him. Some even sent care packages. Poor Guns had no clue what was going on."

"Didn't you eat all the food he had received?"

"Yeah, but I was in jail and didn't get nice things like that. Besides, he wasn't going to eat them."

"I remember when I had built that state-of-the-art training room and I had all the AX members test it out like Guinea pigs," the Professor took out his pipe.

"Tres humiliated us thoroughly," Dandelion nodded.

Zelda remembered that. That had been one of the last great days when everyone was together.

_"Welcome everyone! You all will be testing out my new training facility in a rousing game of tag! You will each take one of these special guns and special vests that I'm handing out. The object of the game is to shoot anyone else you meet, but aim for their vest. After they have been 'shot' they cannot fire upon anyone else for two minutes, nor are they a target during that time frame. The person with the most 'kills' wins, understand?" William explained._

_Abel raised his hand. "Isn't that like that pre-Armageddon game… 'Laser Tag'?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Okay."_

_As they strapped on their vests, Zelda stopped and pondered out loud to the others. "Why do I have this justified feeling that Tres will shame us with flying colors?"_

_Everyone looked over to see him cock the special gun like it was one of his regulars. They gulped loudly and the Professor smiled, "Okay, it's time to start!"_

Sitting off in a dark corner, Zelda of the present wanted to run out of the room but because of all the energy she had used earlier, she couldn't. Trying not to break down in front of them, she began, "I… I remember when you two and Abel were making fun of… his jargon."

_"Tres, are you going on duty now?" Zelda smiled up at him._

_"Positive."_

_Leon laughed as they passed and mimicked Tres, "Pozitive!"_

_Abel smiled, "Pozitive!"_

_Professor shook his head and corrected them, "He says it 'Poi-zee-tive'."_

_"Poi-zee-tive!"_

_"Poi-zee-tive!"_

_"Poi-zee-tive!" They repeated it again, enjoying it immensely._

_She made a face and consoled Tres. "Don't worry, they do it because their just jealous. They wish they had your voice."_

_He ignored them all but asked her, "Are you going to run the errands Caterina-sama gave you?"_

_A dark shadow shielded her downcast eyes, a wicked grin spread across the lower half of her face. "…Poi-zee-tive."_

"Mmm," they nodded. Minutes passed before anyone spoke again, lost in their memories. Finally-

"While we were searching for Kain today, I found the location of another base. We attack in two days," the Professor stated firmly and quietly.

The others cried, "What?!"

"This is the best time to strike, they either think we're dead or they think that we haven't recovered yet."

"We haven't recovered yet! I don't think I can take it if I have to go through another friend's death! I can't handle it if I have to relive Tres' de-" Zelda bit down on her tongue and wobbly ran out of the room, slamming the door behind her.


	6. Chapter 6

_It's your fault. It's your fault. It's your fault..._

_Zelda lie in the courtyard, letting her tears flow over the stones in the ground. She hugged herself and bent over, face nearly touching the pavement._

_"Sister Zelda?" The priest version of Tres called from behind her._

_Her eyes enlarged and she stopped crying. Slowly, she turned around. "Tres!" She jumped up and buried her face in his jacket. "You're alive! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!" She sobbed._

_He stared at her tear stained cheeks and red rimmed eyes and brought his hand up to her face. "Your words do not compute. I don't recall ever being alive."_

_She laughed and smiled up at him but something was wrong. He began to dematerialize into billions of particles._

_"Nanites," he said before the process finished and the wind kicked in, blowing the remains away. She stared down at her shaking, empty hands in pain._

Zelda woke up screaming. Unconsciously, her anger caused her to lash out at the wall next to her bed. One armor covered hand swiped down diagonally, creating four deep gouges in the wall.

Ignoring that, she placed her head in both her armored and flesh hands, needing to calm her rapid breathing. Why? Why did Tres have to die? Why did she have to kill him? Why couldn't everyone be saved? There had to be a possibility, there had to be a chance...

Silently, her lips formed the words, "There is a chance." Feeling renewed hope for the first time in a long time; she threw the covers away and jumped out of bed. She paused at the desk and whispered, "I'm sorry Professor."

---

Running freely through the trees, occasionally pulling out the map and feeling a giant burden lifted from her shoulders, Zelda actually smiled. Everything was going to work out right; she could still straighten things out even though it seemed impossible. They would live happily again.

She sobered for a moment, remembering how she left things back at the laboratory. When Leon and William found her note stating where she had gone, it would not be pretty. Of course, they still had time to stop her. She had run the whole way here- despite a few 'accidents'- while they could take a train.

A dark, impending fortress loomed over the treetops, making her excited once more. "I'm going to save you Lady Caterina."

---

Golden eyes and a monocle reflected on the monitor's screen. They watched Zelda weave through the trees. Changing the channel, the screen showed Leon and the Professor racing after her, not but a few miles behind. It then flickered back to her.

The person, whom the eyes belonged to, shifted slightly, filling the noiseless room with the sound of soft curls brushing the ground. After seeing the dark haired girl flip over the wall surrounding the castle so casually but concentrated, the lady spoke.

Without looking away from the monitor, she said to a shadow in the background, "Go meet her in the grand ball room and show her the same respects that she has shown previously. That means to make sure she is no longer breathing when you leave the room."


	7. Chapter 7

"Where is she? Where is she?" Zelda muttered under her breath as she kicked open doors in the Rozen Kreuz's castle. She glanced up at a large, ancient staircase but hesitated using for fear of it breaking. After searching the entire floor, she decided that trying it out was a risk she'd take if it meant saving Caterina.

Taking a deep breath, she poised herself in a running position and sprinted up the stairs. For the first ten steps, everything seemed fine. That is, until her foot missed a step and her face personally met the wood below her. "Well, at least it's not breaking," she sighed at her own clumsiness. A small creaking sound reached her ears. She raised her head as it grew louder.

The bottom of the staircase gave way, and like dominos, the rest of it began to fall. She let out a yelp and scrambled up the crumbling structure just in time. She looked over the railing to see the damage and inhaled sharply, "Why is it my luck that I take out these old stairs? But on the other hand, whoever else is here would have heard that. Surely they'll be coming to see what has happened." A thought then occurred in her mind that someone besides Caterina may be here and she decided to disappear from the scene before they came.

As she wandered around the second floor; two beautiful, giant doors appeared. Slowly and quietly she grasped a tarnished silver handle and pushed it open. Even though it creaked, she was so entranced by the room inside, she hardly noticed. Dust covered the once glossy marble tiling; small bronze lamps on the walls sat darkened because of years of inactivity and light streamed in dirty, full length windows. Zelda loved it anyway.

She inhaled as she stepped into the room but forgot to let it out. Clutching at a necklace she wore under her clothes, her eyes wandered up to the ceiling where painted angels slept and played in the heavens. The sunlit clouds rolled around them, constantly changing. Their smiling, cherub faces laughed and greeted one another. They extended their hands out to her, calling her.

_"Won't you play with us? It's so much better here than it is there."_

"No thanks but I'm fine here."

_"But that room will make you cry."_

"What do you mean? It's perfectly-" she stopped looking at the painting and turned to the front of the room. Gradually, she raised a shaking hand to cover her trembling mouth. Her eyes widened and water spilt over and down her cheeks. She took a step forward, "…Tres?"

At the other end of the room, her former _tovares_ stood patiently, simply waiting for her conversation with the roof to end. After seeing that she noticed him, he started to walk towards her, "You are surprised? Your Nanites shut down my system for only an hour."

Forgetting the fact they were enemies, Zelda ran to him. She cried, "I'm sorry Tres! I'm sorry. I didn't want you to die! I love you!"

He wrapped his arms around her and she felt something hard against the small of her back. A gunshot went off and she stiffened, her eyes wide- ceasing the flow of tears. Besides pain, she felt a trail of liquid slip down her back, staining her dress. A small, strangled sound caught in her throat.

"Forgive me," he bent his head and kissed her lightly. "I'm sorry."

A smile tugged at her lips in remembrance of those words, "I… deserve it. But I… love you. I'll definitely… save… you…"

She went limp in his arms and he stared at her for a moment. Unemotionally and detached he finally answered, "'Love'… does not compute."

Tres noticed a necklace that came out from under her dress and lifted the hanging object off her neck. It was a small circular part from him that resembled a ring. He recalled when she obtained it.

_His arm had been ripped off during a mission and the Professor was putting him back together. Zelda sat by his side even though most people didn't bother to care when things such as this happened._

_William tossed an object into the trash can, "I've got a new one for you, you don't need that one anymore."_

_She stooped down and fished it back out. "Oh please, can I keep this??"_

_"Don't ask me," he shrugged. "Ask Tres, it's technically his."_

_She blushed deeply, "Oh, right. Tres, please, may I have this?"_

_He opened his eyes to see the ring-like part. "I no long have use for it. Keep it."_

_Zelda lit up, "Thank you! Thank you!"_

He was still holding her body when Caterina contacted him. "Tres, we're leaving. Are you ready?"

"Positive," he laid her on the ground and strode out the door.


	8. Chapter 8

William bent down and lit the pyre on fire. Crackling, orange flames ate away at the small wooden box that Zelda's friends gathered around. Vaclav, Sister Kate, Leon and the Professor attended her funeral. They decided to bury her in a garden because she always had a love for plants.

Professor sighed as the fire died down, "I think she would have been happy here. If she had been able to pick where to be buried, she probably would have chosen this place.

"This was your fault you know. If you hadn't spurred her on, telling her that she needed to fight the Orden, she wouldn't be…" Vaclav spoke for the first time since arriving.

His head shot up, "My fault? She did need to fight! Without her, the world might be in chaos right now."

"If you hadn't had her help, she may still be alive."

Leon faced him, "Think about the kid, she would have rather died herself than see others suffer! She stepped on an ant once and didn't stop crying for half an hour! It was then that the only person who could get her to shut up was Gunslinger."

"And now he really did 'shut her up'."

Sister Kate gasped, "Stop! All of you! Don't argue over her like this. Show her some respect, she deserves that much."

"Tch, forget this," Leon shook his head and walked away. "How can I be around people who don't respect what she lived and died for?"

The Professor took off the gold cross on his collar. "I cannot either and since Zelda's gone… I think… I'll not only be hanging up my robes but I'll keep to myself from now on." He handed it to Vaclav. "This is the last time we'll be seeing each other."

Caterina pulled away from the monitor as William walked off the screen, leaving his former friends behind. Her eyes flickered to the doorway, "Enjoy the show?"

Kämpher stepped into the blue-green light emitting from the screen. "I wonder… hmm, no, never mind. I'll check back later." The darkness in the background crept up and spirited him away. She leaned her head gently against her long, graceful fingers and watched them, bored.

---

_Caterina…! …Caterina…! …Caterina!!_

She jerked her body up out of sleep; a familiar voice haunted her dreams. Exhaling, she wiped the damp curls from out of her face. The Orden lady reached over to her bedside table and picked up her monocle. After adjusting it next to her nose, she pushed the thick covers away and placed her feet on the floor.

A spectral sound reached Caterina's ears. Her pupils contracted slightly and she swallowed, trying to wet her suddenly dry mouth. She twisted around to see the image that visited her every night for the past month.

At first it was a simple spot of white mist, growing more defined over time. Now it was almost a hazy figure, a trembling ghost. Most of the time it only made weeping noises although there were times it would call out her name in soft anguish. This had been going on since the day of Zelda's funeral.

Caterina stood and went to the eternally crying figure. She had to get a grip on herself; this was not like her. How could a woman such as herself be so intimidated by something that couldn't possibly be real? She sucked in a deep breath and thrust her hand into the apparition.

Nothing. Her hand went right through and she felt nothing. _Wait,_ she thought. _Something just touched me._ Reeling her arm back in, she stared down in horror. A deep garnet liquid ran down her fingers, twisting and twining around her palm.

"Blood?!" She whispered.

The ghost looked down too and then back into her eyes- or her soul. _"Why?"_ It faded out then, but glanced towards the door as if wishing to go through it. The ex-duchess hastened to it and pulled it open.

Dark, purple hair swinging, Kämpher stopped in the hallway. "Caterina. What a surprise to see you up at this time of the night."

"I was thinking and didn't bother to look at the clock."

"Hmm. I am curious about the AX and never asked got around to ask you what their plans were after the little nun died. Since your awake…" he motioned for her to shed light on his thirst for the knowledge.

She righted herself and tried to look more presentable. "It seems as if the remains of the AX were destroyed along with Zelda. Vaclav and Sister Kate have gone on with the duties Cardinal Medicci gives them. Leon fled the country after having the police so close on his tail. While William… he has abandoned his underground laboratory and become a recluse. I haven't found his location as of this time."

"Shouldn't you be searching harder for him? He could be building a fleet against us."

"Where would he get pilots?"

"Indeed. And what about that blonde priest, the one who never stays still?"

"I'm sure when he found out the AX was no more five months ago, he immediately went to look for his family's murderer. His only thought is revenge; he is not a threat to us."

A corner of his mouth turned up maliciously, "Then there will be no one to stop this plan."

"There is one…" her eyelids lowered slightly.

"Do you mean Abel-sama? No, even he can't stop this. The Empress will be dead long before he suspects something is different."

"Is 'she' ready?"

"I looked in on 'her' today and she is nearly completed. It won't be long now. It's a shame that I won't need her creator after this. I could have used his talent for so many other things."

"Well, it's late. Goodnight Isaak." She quietly closed the door and leaned against it in the dark. She made sure he had walked away before commenting to herself, "If this continues… the Crusnik race will soon be extinct."


	9. Chapter 9

Two months had passed since Zelda's death and the 'ghost' still haunted Caterina every night. She never had a full night's sleep- if she slept at all. Even after the ghost would disappear, she would sit up thinking about it. It never gave her a moment's peace.

Tonight, Caterina was sitting in a chair across from her bed when it arrived. Yet, it was no longer a smudge in the air or a barely visible figure, every hair on its head was vividly sharp.

She gasped, "…Zelda?!"

The phantom's hair floated gently around her tear-stained face. _"Why did you order Tres to shoot me?"_

The lady's breath caught in her throat and she choked, unable to say anything.

_"Why?!"_ She shook her head and a tear fell, landing on the woman's hand.

Caterina whispered, "How is all this real? The blood? The tears?"

Zelda cried in her eerie, echoing voice, _"Why Caterina? Why?"_ In distress, she turned away and passed through the wall. The Orden member ran and opened the door to look out in the hall but the little specter was gone.

Zelda continued to walk the corridors after that, searching for something. At last, she paused outside a room and went through the doorway. It was a large room, very dark and isolated. It had the air of a solitary being doing his job.

_"Tres…"_ she called at the sight of his turned back.

He faced around, gun drawn. But at the sight of her, lowered it. "Vital signs: none. Hologram wave frequency: none. Requesting your status Zelda Bäcker."

She raised her hand as if to touch his cheek but it phased through his face. _"Why did you shoot me Tres?"_

He didn't respond, only looked at her.

_"Did you even feel anything when I was alive?"_ Her eyes bore into his as her pale, shear body became distorted and faded away.

"Negative," he answered after she was finally gone.

---

Caterina rubbed her forehead with her fingers, it was late and they had traveled far to be in time for the special celebration. Every two hundred years the Empress would leave the capitol for a week to visit small cities on the border of the Empire. Maybe the practice was a way to restore hope in those that lived near the Outer World, or maybe it was a vacation from all those capitol troubles. Whatever the reason, this was the Orden's opportunity. They weren't going to let this chance slip away.

She opened her door to reveal a see through Zelda. She quickly shut the door for fear of letting anyone else see a ghost speaking to her or perhaps it was the fear of letting anyone see this hallucination. Standing up to the spirit Zelda, she asked, "Why won't you leave me alone?"

_"Why did I have to die?! Wasn't I a good errand girl? I did all the errands you gave me and more! I admired you! I thought you were so wise, so strong… and you wanted me dead."_

"We were enemies. This is war Zelda. And besides, I recall you were in such a hurry to kill me that day. The day you died," she said coldly.

Zelda took a step back, _"I was running to save you!"_

"Save me?"

_"Yes, save you from the Rozen Kreuz. I considered you my friend and part of my family. I wanted you to come back so we could all be a family again. But I see now that you don't care. You can't see how much we all love you. You can't see how many people care about you. Will you ever?"_ she didn't stay to hear an answer.

---

Kämpher motioned to the life-sized doll sitting on a makeshift throne in the middle of the town's capitol building. "She is finished."

The doll was a perfect clone of Seth Nightlord, clothed in an expensive, green dress that was fit for a queen. Her short ebony hair hung loosely around her empty face. Her head was tipped to the side, forced to lean against the throne. Her dull glass eyes stared out at the carpet, giving her that hollow look.

Caterina turned the face, "She is exquisite but you're sure she has the ability to kill the Empress?"

He smiled, "You should give her a test run. She's quite amazing."

"Hmm." Letting go, she wondered, "Now what should I do about the people who have seen the fight?"

He pressed something into her hand before disappearing, "The building is rigged to collapse and if any survive… I know you can think of something."

She rubbed her thumb across black button in her hand but off handedly mentioned to the machine, "Tomorrow, your debut will come. I won't turn you on yet."

A soft, shuffling reached her ears and she glanced up. From out the shadows William appeared at the other end of the room, hand outstretched. "Please hand me that device Caterina."


	10. Chapter 10

"William!" she took a step backwards. "How- why… how are you here?"

Leon went to his side and shrugged, "He paid for our train tickets up here."

"Leon! How? You fled the country!"

He rubbed his neck in a lazy manner. "Did I? I don't remember."

"How we got here is beside the point, Caterina. We came here to stop this, to stop you. We aren't the same without you and Tres," the Professor closed his eyes.

"Yeah, we have nobody on our cases anymore," Dandelion remarked.

After shooting him a look, William continued. "Its like, we aren't complete. We need you."

"Liar," her gaze hardened. "Stop lying. I'm sick of hearing you and everyone else. First you say you want to kill me, and then you want to save me. What is it you really want? Stop these lies and tell me the truth!"

"We never wanted to kill you. We care about you."

Tres kicked open the back entrance and entered the room, gun drawn. "Damage report, Caterina-sama."

Caterina was too angry to answer Tres. Her fist tightened, "You honestly care? Look at Abel, he said he cared and he left me! You say aren't the same without Tres and I, but you had Zelda attempt to kill him!"

Professor smiled, "No we didn't actually. That first time we attacked your hideout was for the sake of provoking Tres-kun and injecting the Nanites in him. The Nanites weren't meant to kill him, they were to shut down his system before gathering information on your newest plans. If they didn't turn off his system, he would have known what they were doing. So, we had Zelda pretend to fight and 'sadly kill her ex-partner'. Then she would bring us back my Nanites and all the info we gleaned."

_Looping her arms around him, she injected the vial that the Professor had slipped her. The guns fell from Tres' hands and his eyes widened slightly. Sadly, she explained, "The Professor made these Nanites. They were created to wipe out your system. I'm sorry. Tres, I'm so sorry!!!" Tears streaked down her face and she gripped him tighter._

_"Forgive me," she gave him a small kiss. "I love you." As the Nanites took their toll; his metal frame leaned forward and rested against hers. "Please don't hate me," was the last thing he heard. Weeping, she laid him on the ground and shut his eyes._

_A few minutes later she brushed away her tears, removed the vial, pocketed it and sprinted away in the direction of the others._

"…What?" she whispered.

Leon cocked his head, "Eh? Is that all you got to say? And after the long trip we made up here to destroy your machine Empress, man, I feel so under appreciated."

The lady became distant once more, "This is the end of the line for you. Seth Nightlord, awaken." Upon those words, the doll jerked itself upright by its metal spinal cord. Her vacant, glassy eyes sparked and she pushed herself up from the throne. Brandishing two, twin swords she retrieved from inside her arms, she strode towards the men.

"W-wait, don't you want to at least think about this? I mean, we're two defenseless… people and… it's not nice," Professor's voice was laced with worry and he backed up.

The Empress Clone raised a sword, ready to spear them through when a black flash interrupted and stopped her weapon from moving any further. Looking up, a young man with long, streaming, blonde hair forced his blades to clash with hers.

"You!" Caterina cried.

"Sword Dancer, you made it!"

"Way to go, Hughe!" Dandelion smiled and gave him a thumbs up.

She shook her head, "How?"

"The moment you and Tres left for the Rozen Kreuz, I sent a message to Sword Dancer and told him to stay with the Empress for awhile," William stated.

… _Hughe disappeared entirely…_

…_"And what about that blonde priest, the one who never stays still?"_

_"I'm sure when he found out the AX was no more five months ago, he immediately went to look for his family's murder. His only thought is revenge; he is not a threat to us."…_

"When we found out that you planned to murder the Empress, we informed him. That's the reason why she isn't coming."

The Seth Doppelganger shoved Hughe away and took a jab at him while he was still recuperating. He caught the blow and returned it with a few strikes of his own. One of them sliced off part of the sleeve on the robot's arm.

"How is that possible?! She's untouchable!" Caterina leaned forward slightly.

Hughe answered, "After they told me about your weapon, I asked if the Empress would take time to fight me as if in a real battle. So now I'm experienced in fighting her."

Her finger itched the button she was holding. "Seth Nightlord, finish-"

Someone came up from behind her and held her hands, "Please be careful with that button, Caterina-san."

"Vaclav?!" She turned her face towards him.

A soft, whispery voice said, "Please don't struggle Caterina-sama."

The former duchess stared at the hologram standing next to her, "…Sister Kate? Why are you two here?"

"Because," William explained. "They were always involved in this. They were my people that were at the Vatican and could influence things I could not. They could find out things I could not. To relieve any suspicion, we fought and to the ordinary person, ceased speaking.

…_Vaclav remained solely a priest and minded his own business after Lady Caterina's decision. Sister Kate and the Iron Maiden were still being utilized for the Department of Inquiry's use. …_

…_"_ _I think… I'll not only be hanging up my robes but I'll keep to myself from now on." He handed it to Vaclav. "This is the last time we'll be seeing each other."_

…_"_ _Vaclav and Sister Kate have gone on with the duties Cardinal Medicci gives them." …_

All this began to register in Caterina and she frowned quietly, "Why?"

Vaclav's eyes crinkled in kindness. "Because we care about you and we miss you. We want you back. We want to save you."

Her head hung down and her full head of flaxen locks spilt over her face. "You know… that's exactly what Zelda said to me."

"Ah, Zelda," Professor nodded, still smiling, eyes closed. "Without her this whole thing would have been impossible."

"What?" she lifted her head.

"We knew you were watching us in my underground laboratory the whole time. What, did you think we were that stupid? Anyway, after retrieving the information from Tres, we planned another suicide attack against Kain- who we weren't really after by the way. Only, Zelda had too many conflicting feelings over 'killing' her partner. So she went to prevent that from happening again. At the castle she wasn't meant to meet up with you at all. Her real purpose was to see Tres again and get him to shoot her.

"Along with the Nanites, I created a serum that would slow a person's heart rate down to practically nothing. When she first saw Tres, she injected herself and pulled her armor up to lie under her skin. After he left her there, we found her and gave her the anti-serum, otherwise she wouldn't have made it. We then held her funeral, burned a box and slipped into a secret base no one else knows about. Leon fooled the police and you by 'jumping the border' while I sent visions of Zelda into yours and Tres' minds. It was fairly simple to hypnotize you and have the Nanites tweak Tres. We made it so real that you actually believed you were talking with her departed spirit."

_He wrapped his arms around her and she felt something hard against the small of her back. A gunshot went off and she stiffened, her eyes wide- ceasing the flow of tears. Besides pain, she felt a trail of liquid slip down her back, staining her dress. A small, strangled sound caught in her throat._

_"Forgive me," he bent his head and kissed her lightly. "I'm sorry."_

_A smile tugged at her lips in remembrance of those words, "I… deserve it. But I… love you. I'll definitely… save… you…"_

"Zelda… isn't a ghost?" Caterina blinked.

"She was never dead. Unless you up and died on me back there. Did you Zelda?" He called to another exit, the furthest back one.

A familiar, onyx eyed, young girl walked forward, hoisting Leon's bazooka. She aimed it at the Empress Clone and smiled before firing, "Game Over."


	11. Chapter 11

The blast caused everyone to go flying. Concrete slabs and thick coils of metal wiring were suddenly airborne, creating a deadly situation for those in the room. A wave of lighter debris passed over them like thunder after lightening.

Caterina waited for the dust to settle before lifting her head up. Pulling her arm away from her face, she realized what had happened. She had been pushed to the ground, shielded by Father Havel. "Vaclav?! …Why???"

Trails of blood jaggedly fell down his face but he smiled in spite of his wounds. "Didn't I tell you? I care about you. We all do." At his words, her eyes clouded with wonder and confusion.

During the chaos, Tres also felt someone nearly attack him when they were trying to push him out of the way. He was lying on his side while someone else was sprawled on top of him- like a spider- trying to shield every part of him as best as they could.

His head turned, "Why did you rescue me?"

Zelda shook as she forced herself to move. "I wasn't about to go through your death, my death and six months without you just to see you die here."

If Tres had been human, he would have blinked then. But she was glad he wasn't human and that he was created just the way he is.

He started to respond but a vibrating; clanking, metal-scraping-concrete sound grew louder. Everyone peeked out from their caves of twisted rubbish. Millions of small and large flesh colored pieces rolled together, coming from everywhere. They attached themselves together and began to form a little girl again.

"This is one of her greatest weapons, self-recovery," Caterina mentioned quietly in awe as she watched. Off in another part of the building, something broke. Whatever it was made enough noise for them to hear the thunk.

"What was that?" Sister Kate whispered.

In horror, the ex-duchess moved slightly and yanked the black button from under her. Holding it up she said, "We've got to get out of here."

Vaclav's eyes widened and he shouted across the room, "William! This place is about to come down! We need to leave immediately!"

Professor and Leon ran over to them, dodging chunks of now falling roof. Yelling so everyone could hear him he pointed, "Vaclav, Hughe take care of Caterina! Leon, help Tres if you can. Sister Kate, ready the Iron Maiden! As soon as they board- take off and don't stop until you're in Vatican air."

"What about you and Zelda?" she asked.

He glanced at the Seth Machine, at the end of its rebuilding process. "We'll be fine. Now go!" They nodded and sprinted away, now trying to make their way through the perilous falling building.

Professor and Zelda faced their enemy. "I'm sorry for involving you and having you stay behind," he apologized.

She smiled, "Don't be. I wouldn't have left you here anyway."

The robot version of the Empress didn't wait for them to finish their conversation. She swiped a sword across Zelda's stomach, causing even more damage to her already injured body. The former nun clutched her abdomen and danced away from the swinging blade.

Gritting her teeth, she spat, "Good thing that doesn't hurt. Otherwise I might be afraid of your little butter knives."

This seemed to make the Seth Clone angry. In a child-like voice it muttered, "Crusnik 03. Activation 40 approved." Her eyebrows frowned and her eyes glowed ruby. Her hair levitated and she focused her gaze.

William said in shock, "Does it have Crusnik abilities?!"

The Empress Clone locked onto Zelda.

"Watch out!" he cried.

A strong hand shoved her out of the way, flinging her to the ground. She glanced back up, "Tres!!"

Strange ice formed on his boots and rapidly worked its way up, encasing his entire body in a block of frozen water. As if knowing what was going to happen, he closed his eyes as it finished covering his face.

"Tres… Tres!!!" She jumped up and ran to him. Professor grabbed the back of her dress and yanked her backwards in time. The roof caved in and separated them from Tres and the Seth Clone.

She wriggled and cried, "Let me go! I've got to save him!"

"If we stay any longer we'll die! And if we die who's going to save Tres? Who's going to protect all the people we care about?!"

She froze. "You're… right. Let's go… but we're coming back for Tres no matter what."

"I promise."

Accepting this, she turned and fled from the nearly demolished capitol.


	12. Chapter 12

"We went the wrong way! We were supposed to take a left back there!!" Zelda whispered as she came face-to-face with an aluminum wall.

"Another dead end?" he sighed. "These vents aren't very reliable…"

"Shh!!" She pressed a finger to her lips.

"Sorry!" Professor lowered his voice. "It's just, you'd think that this would be efficient since it's a classic move and yet… this harder than walking in, point blank."

As they began the agonizing slow and difficult process of turning around in a three and a half foot air vent- without making a sound- she said, "Well, it was you who suggested this. Don't complain to me."

"That was a very Leon-like comment you just made. I hope he hasn't affected you in any way." He squeezed his eyes close at the thought of it.

"Shh!"

"What? I was being quiet!"

"No, listen…"

They waited and listened to the conversation that echoed along the vents. It sounded like the Seth Clone and Kämpher. At the voice of the longhaired Orden member, William stopped breathing.

"I will hold onto the traitor's chip," she spoke.

"No, Mien Herr wants it, so he shall have it. If you're upset that someone may steal it, do not worry. He has decided to keep it in his room and that is the safest place anywhere in this galaxy."

Zelda mouthed, "What are they talking about?" Alas, the two had begun to move away, ceasing their ability to hear the rest. Shrugging, she continued on.

Two dead ends and thirty minutes later, the found the opening to the room they were looking for. The Professor retrieved a mini screwdriver from his pocket and undid all the screws holding the vent opening in place. He dug his fingers in and yanked it up, allowing them to enter the room. She jumped down first and scanned the room.

"Tres!" she cried softly and ran to his side. He was lying on a table, still covered in ice and eyes closed.

Professor called out, "Wait! There may be sensors on the table that react when someone touches it."

"Ah," her hand flinched and she clasped it behind her back.

He finished lowering himself from the vent and frowned when he saw Tres up close. "…I think that I know what that conversation was about. It was about a chip that's installed in the lower back portion of his neck. If they've removed it, his systems are stuck in this mode until it's put back in. Which means, even if we get all of this ice off of him, we still need the chip, re-install it and hope that it hasn't been damaged in anyway."

Her eyes widened, "And Kain…"

"…Has it in his bedroom," he ended. "Where ever that is."

"Who knows how strongly it's guarded."

"Who knows when he is and isn't there. Because heaven knows we can't take him on."

She placed her head in her hands. "I'm sorry Tres! I should have never left you! You wouldn't be in this state if it wasn't for me!"

William placed a hand on her shoulder and gripped it. "It's not your fault so don't blame yourself. If you're willing… we'll get out of here and contact Caterina. She'll tell us where Kain's room is located and we will go and get the chip. Alright?"

She looked up, "Really? You'd take that risk?"

"You forget that Tres-kun was my guinea pig in many experiments. I wouldn't let this happen to him," he winked. "Now, I'll let you have a short second before we leave so… yeah." He scooted off towards the opening, giving her a moment.

Zelda bent down to say softly into her partner's ear, "I will say it again: I'll save you. Don't give up because I'm coming back for you. Oh.. and since you can't really hear me- I suppose I'll tell you want I've always wanted to say vocally, even after I first said 'I love you'. I think… that you're completely gorgeous! You're so beautiful- it's dangerous! I know. There have been many times when I've fallen down a flight of stairs because I was too busy staring at you." Her face turned red in embarrassment although no one could hear her.

William appeared, "Come on, we can't stay any longer."

"It seems my time with you is up but I'll be back. Soon. And with your chip." She stood up straight and followed him to the vent. She pulled herself up, resealed the opening and dissolved into the inky night like a phantom with a purpose.


	13. Chapter 13

Zelda peeked up at a small window, still a bit shocked to see space so close. Even though her body had left earth for the celestial heavens, she couldn't believe that the stars were still so far away. The dim, twinkling specks of light scattered across the dark, empty abyss like glitter dust flung against an inky backdrop.

Exhaling slowly, she let her head rest against the icy wall of her containment. She wondered how on earth- er, space- was she here? By a major chance of luck and Caterina's instructions, they were on the same small ship that was moving Tres to the Rozen Kreuz Orden's main hub.

She snuck a glance up at her ex-partner, whose cart happened to be only three inches from her face. Since she had last seen him, the ice had begun to grow, forming a large rectangular block. The ice wasn't the problem though. It was finding and obtaining the chip that would wake him from this slumber mode. Thankfully, they hadn't rushed into this without some sort of information. Once they were away from the Orden, they contacted Caterina aboard the Iron Maiden.

"_He's on the MOON?!" despair fell heavily on Zelda and she sunk to her knees, tears threatening in her eyes._

_Caterina sighed over the radio. "Don't give up. There is a small chance of success but you must take it."_

"_Oh yeah? How are we going to find Kain's room, find the chip, find wherever they take Tres, remove the ice, get out and accomplish all of this without being noticed?"_

"_She did say there was a small chance of success," Professor horribly attempted to lighten the situation._

"_I can help you with two of your problems. I can tell you that Kain-sa… Kain's room is on the west wing of the 127th floor in the main structure and a way to escape is to use the emergency pods. They're on the 3rd floor, three right turns after you come down a flight of stairs. The best time to search inside his room is while he is taking his daily bath. The only one who would become a problem to you then is Isaak. No one else would venture near his bedroom."_

_Zelda brought her knees up to her chin and hugged her legs. "We're doomed, aren't we? How do we keep ourselves from being noticed? I mean, you would think they would see two humans from Earth roaming around their station."_

"_There is only security on the outside. It's enough to keep nearly everyone out. Since the security is impossible to penetrate on the outside, and they are on the inside, they don't think they need anything else. _We_ didn't think we needed anything else," she admitted. "The only security you will have a problem with is if you run into someone."_

Zelda looked out again, in complete awe of what she saw before her. On the dark side of the moon, was the base. It blended in so well that nobody from Earth would ever notice. The base itself was like a creature from the inner core of the satellite, crawling its way out into the open. It's long onyx claws were clutching at the rocky surface, forcing its entry into space.

Professor, who couldn't see the sight from his position, breathed, "We're about to land. Put your head down."

She nodded and curled up into a ball. Trying to keep her heart from beating so quickly, she took deep breaths and closed her eyes. The impact of landing caused the ship to shudder and tremble, giving them reason to believe it was unstable and difficult to enter the moon base. A few minutes after feeling the quakes and vibrations, someone unlocked the door to their cramped storage space.

"Eh?! You want me to lift and move a 500-pound robot?!! Out of all the things you have ever commanded me to do, this is the most absurd of them all," the man at the door complained.

Someone else replied to his remark.

He sighed, "Fine, fine. Just where do you want me to take him?" The other person responded. "Eighth floor?! Great, just great. Today is just not my day."

As he reached in to pull out Tres, the other man's voice became audible. "And yet, I wonder why I keep you."

"Understood master," he said in a more humble tone. Because of the fierce tugging of Zelda's former _tovares_ through the door, the man didn't see them in the back. Of course, who would expect anyone to hide out on Kämpher's ship?

It felt as if hours trickled by slowly as they froze in a silent posture. Eons could have passed, Tres' death could have passed, the Orden's destruction could have passed and yet they sat. Growing impatient, Zelda asked, "_Please _can we leave now?"

The Professor rubbed his face, thinking. "…Yeah."

Creeping through the other objects in the compartment, she grasped the glossy silver handle and pulled it down centimeter by centimeter. She glanced through a small crack to see if the coast was clear. Seeing no one around, she jumped out of the ship and ran like mad to get to the other side of the room.

The Professor followed her and whispered, "Well, that was a smart move. What if someone had been here?!"

"But there's not. So, let's take this chance and go before that one person comes back for the other cargo." Zelda opened a random door and disappeared into a long, white marble corridor.

---

"What… level… are we… on?" William desperately tried to catch his breath. They paused in the infinite staircase to regain their strength.

She shook her head and gulped, "I lost count at floor 78."

"We must be close now."

One staircase down, someone opened the door. They held their breaths- although their bodies screamed for oxygen. The person began to climb towards them, causing them to feel panic.

She glanced around and knew that there was nowhere to run, no place to hide. Grabbing the Professor by the back of his shirt, she dragged him up another level. Throwing caution into the wind, she flung open the door to that floor and rushed inside. She placed her ear against the wall, listening to the other person's footsteps fade away.

She hung her head and exhaled in relief. "Well, maybe we can see what level we're on now."

"Hey, Zelda," his voice was smiling. "Thanks to whoever nearly found us, we're on floor 127."

"Are you serious?!" She spun around to face the small plaque on the wall that read: '127'.

He clamped his hand over her mouth, "Shh. We don't know if he's still here. Who knows what time it is." She nodded and he let her go. They stole down the inky hallway, searching for his room. Thankfully, there was only one door on the entire floor. Zelda reached for the knob but paused. A crypt-like aura pulsed and seeped out, tainting the air she breathed, while an even thicker darkness gathered inside.

Choking, she motioned, "Go hide." He nodded once and went away. Now that she was alone, she let her nerves crash down on her. All of her instincts told her to stay away. Her frame shook and she had trouble swallowing. Holding the handle, she hesitantly turned it and pushed open the creaking door.

_Please don't be in here. Please don't be in here. Please don't be in here, _She prayed repeatedly. Shadows so thick she couldn't breathe, see her hand or even feel her face covered her as she stepped into the room. For the first time in her life, she was afraid of the dark.

Shaking her head, she backed up and collided with something. Fear destroyed whatever was left of her sanity but her body moved unconsciously, responding to the object. After fully turning around, someone caught her hands.

A soul-shattering scream clogged her throat. She stared up at the xanthous leader of the Orden. Kain closed his eyes and smiled, "Who is this?"


	14. Chapter 14

"Uh...???" She racked her brain frantically for some kind of reason to be in her number one enemy's bedroom. "I love you!" She flung herself at him in a giant bear hug. _What the heck am I SAYING??! _Her eyes widened in shock at her actions.

"Hmm?" He stared down at fake fangirl.

"I'm like- in total love with you!" She sputtered into his chest. _I'm so stupid! Who would believe me??! And... I'm so sorry Tres! I'm doing this for you!!!_

"Are you?"

Zelda nodded, "Absolutely! I love you more than anyone else!" _You lair. He knows you lie... he's just standing there, KNOWING that you can't talk your way into escape!_ "I want to be by your side forever!!" _Okay... that's going a bit too far..._

"I see. Come with me then," he smiled in a innocent way again.

"R-really?"

Kain cocked his head. "Of course. I must go check on somethings and the one who says she wants to be by my side forever can't stay behind... can she?"

"N-no!" _Are you serious?? He took that excuse? Wow..._

He pushed her back a little by the shoulders and took her hand in his. His ivory robes flowed gracefully over the white marble, his light blonde hair framed his pale, narrow face and his eyes closed when he smiled. He led her down the hallway and into an elevator. As she stepped in she began to think, _There WERE elevators here! And we had to take the stairs!_ She glanced back up at him once more but couldn't pull her gaze away.

He noticed and asked, "What is it?"

A blush hit her face like a brick and she adverted her eyes to her feet. "I-It's n-nothing..." Why on earth was she blushing? She didn't like him! He was her enemy! He was evil! He was cruel! And yet... very kind... but you know what they say about lambs being led to the slaughter.

The door slid opened, revealing a certain longhaired Orden member. Kämpher's thin eyes rounded into saucers. His hands twitched as if he would like to yank Zelda away from his master and then throw her from someplace very high. _Very _high. By a sheer force of will that came from who knows where, he controlled himself to wait until Kain gave the order. "Mein Herr, t-that girl- she's with the AX. Why is she here?!"

"Because I'm in love with him!" She hugged the Orden leader from his side, receiving emissions of hate from her adversary.

Kain only smiled nonchantly, creating waves of havoc and panic in his underling. "B-but-! She-!"

Ignoring Kämpher, he swept passed him and motioned towards the computers, "How is _that _coming?"

She wondered at his fluency, his sweet innocence and his smile. _He's... like Abel..._

Purple strands of hair slipped down and hung down in front of his face during his bow. He answered obsequiously, "According to plan, Mein Herr."

"Good," a corner of the Crusnik's mouth lifted wickedly. Zelda surpressed a shudder, _Whoa! Uh... I take that back..._

---

As she tagged along thoughout the whole base, she definitely noticed Kämpher's growing hostility, jealousy and inexorableness. He made invisible-but-clear deprecation against the "Abomination", a.k.a. Zelda. Every time she touched Kain- which was practically 24/7- he would send her silent, piercing daggers.

_Tres... I'll try to get back to his room soon. Hold on just a little longer! _She squeezed her eyes shut. Upon releasing the pressure from her lids, her eye caught her supposed beloved's movement. His gloved hand reached into his pocket and shifted around inside it. Pulling out a minuscule, square object and rolling it between his forefingers, he continued speaking.

In horror, everything shattered inside of her. Everything died then. It was bad enough that she was in this position, but to have Tres' chip on Kain's person! There was no hope. It was as if everything in exsistence was stacked up against her and Tres. Love was asking the impossible. The highest impossible to ever come about.

He stood, pocketed Gunslinger's only hope, brought the andriod's only woman to his side and exited the room.


	15. Chapter 15

"T-Tres…" she mumbled into her pillow. She hugged it to her chest, thinking about her former _tovares_, stuck in that block of ice while she was lying in this nice, warm bed. He was trapped there, waiting for his death tomorrow because he saved her. A solitary tear slipped down her pale cheek.

"_K-Kain-sama? You've given me my own room?" Zelda held a hand against her hot face._

"_You can't sleep in mine. I… fall apart easily."_

_She hadn't thought about what she was going to do for sleeping arrangements. It was another miracle that she received her own room. Besides, her innocent mind couldn't fathom why she'd want to stay in his. Plus the fact that K__ämpher would have blown what was left of the moon apart if that had been arranged._

"_Ah, thank you!" She responded him quickly._

_K__ämpher had been hovering over them, waiting, watching for a mistake to point out. Although he was irked that she was to stay in his master's wing, he smirked, "Yes, it is best that you rest. Tomorrow is a busy day. We're having the execution of that traitor, the robot… your past lover, correct?"_

_She tried to __stay calm, praying that she wouldn't make a motion that gave her away. Coldly, she answered, "No. He acted as if he had feelings for me but it was all false. He couldn't love anyway, he was man made. Only lights and clockwork."_

"_Just because he didn't have real feelings for you, doesn't mean you didn't care for him."_

"_He was my partner; I only cared for him as much as I was forced to."_

_He scoffed, "Humph. Well, if you really don't care, you'll be fine when we destroy him. You'll be coming, correct? After all, you said you want to stay by Mien Herr's side forever and he's obviously going to be there."_

_She knew his game and knew how to avoid this situation but she still wanted to break down and cry. "Of course I'll be there."_

Tres was going to die. He was going to die and she would be watching. In her mind she cursed her lying lips and told herself that she would burn for all the lies she spoke today. Yet, it didn't compare to the guilt she felt for letting him down. Curling into a ball on top of the covers, she wept silently.

---

"Is everything ready?" Kain's head tipped to the side as he smiled. Everything was set up for Tres' execution. They stood in a large room with Gunslinger the icicle- coming in five different flavors to a store near you! (The Rozen Kreuz Orden is not responsible for any harmful illnesses/food poisoning/deaths you acquire after eating these. To them, it's one less person they have to wipe off the face of the Earth.)

Kämpher smirked at focused his gaze towards the frozen robot, "Yes, Mien Herr."

Zelda was going to cry again but bit down on her tongue. Tres was set up in the middle of the room, about to be melted by an untamable fire. His guns were on a little stand only five feet from him, as if taunting him.

Swallowing hard, she understood what she was about to do. She suddenly hugged the Orden leader on what looked to be impulse. Pick pocketing her partner's chip off of him, she let go and ran for the guns. She grabbed his guns and continued her "Rescue Tres" operation. Cocking them, her armor wrapped around her hands in advance, waiting for the blast.

She pulled the trigger. An insane force erupted from the barrels, destroying the ice encasing him. Had she not had her armor, the gun would have shattered her hand. Her eyes flickered to the weapons as she fired still, _No wonder he's so trigger happy! With this kind of arsenal, I would be too. And I thought it was just a guy thing…_

She arrived at his side and ripped the remaining portion of his icy prison away. Praying, she shoved the chip into a little incision in the back of Tres' neck. _This needs to work. Please. Please!_ Her fevered prayers were answered for his eyes opened and he looked to her.

"…Z-"

"Zelda," Kain interrupted.

She pivoted around to face the Crusnik. "I'm sorry, it wouldn't have worked out!" She caught hold of Tres' arm and dragged him along as she ran away like the coward she was. They sprinted along the halls, desperately searching for an exit. Although they were in a life or death situation (it leaned more towards the 'or death'), Zelda couldn't help but twisting her fingers around his hand, justifying his existence.

"Yo!" The Professor met up with them in a hallway. "I see you managed to free Tres-kun, good job!"

"That's all you have to say for yourself?" she muttered under breath.

"Hmm? Oh, we have to get to the third level! That's where the escape pods are. From there it's a clear shot!"

They reached the stairs, "If we make it there. Kämpher is probably raising his army as we speak. I'm sure that as soon as he was given permission, he began his plots of my complete annihilation."

Tres scooped her up and followed William into the stairwell.

"W-what are you doing?! I'm not injured!" she protested, her face a dark shade of garnet.

"You told me that you fall when I'm around. I am eliminating that chance."

Embarrassment nearly caused her to swoon. "Y-y-y-you heard that?!!"

"Positive."

Trying to cool her fiery blush, she said, "I'm fine, you can let me down."

"Negative. You are-"

"I'm fine," she waved it off and he reluctantly set her down.

-Two stairs later-

Her face collided against the hard floor, bruising her nose and right cheek. Her hands and legs stung from slapping the marble while the edge of a stair was pressing into her stomach. Tres lifted her off the ground. She thought she was going to be in a cradle-like position such as before but her hefted her over his shoulder like a sack. He obviously wanted her to stop slowing them down since she kept getting in the way.

"This position… feels oddly familiar…" she commented dryly, referring to their first mission.

The Professor exclaimed, interrupting her thoughts, "Level Three! We're here!" He flung the door open but stopped short, eyes wide.

Kämpher stood in the entryway, smiling. "Hello William. It's been a long time."


	16. Chapter 16

The Professor's face betrayed him and gave way to anger but kept silent. His face slightly turned towards his left shoulder and spoke to his friends, "Get ready."

"You- you aren't going to stay behind are you?!" Zelda squirmed around, despite Tres' near unbreakable hold.

He ignored her and reached into his pocket. "…Isaak, you will pay for the crimes and sins you've committed…" He extracted a small, silver ball and threw it at his former friend's feet. "But it won't be today!!"

A wave of unbearable, white light washed over their eyes, painting the inside of their eyelids. _Am… I blind?_ Zelda wondered. _This nothingness covering me won't disappear. Perhaps I died instead or am dying._

Something under her… body?- Maybe?- shifted and bobbed up and down in sickening fashion. She had never been on a boat before and she didn't know whether or not she had seasickness. Yet, without the ability to see, everything was sensitive. She hoped she wouldn't loose whatever she had eaten all over the floors. Of course, if she was moving that was a good thing despite her nausea. Had they stuck around Kämpher any longer she would have lost her red blood to the floors- and other strangers she didn't know.

Hands reached up and shoved her through a hole and onto a seat. Her back thudded against the wall, knocking the breath out of her. Trying to suck in oxygen, she barely managed to hear the Professor instruct Tres to press a certain button. The seat under her shuddered and lurched slightly, as if it couldn't wait to break free.

The two men climbed in and a whoosh, followed by an air locking sound reached her ears. Her voice trembled, "Um… what was-"

Suddenly, the little space she was in was catapulted like a slingshot from whatever it was attached to. Screaming, she doubled over, trying to keep herself from being thrown around. Then, as if a ride had been over, the acceleration stopped. Because of stupid kinetic energy, her body had to keep moving which sent her face forward into the wall two feet across from her.

She couldn't see, she had just gone on the most gut-wrenching little spin and her whole right side was plastered to a wall. But none of it mattered as soon as she felt Tres pull her back and into her seat.

"Tres…" Zelda murmured and fell back against his dense shoulder. Even if she had her sight, she wouldn't have been able to see him because she closed her eyes happily.

"Ahem," William coughed, embarrassed by the third wheel rank he slipped into. "Well… I suppose I should ask you how you managed to stay alive in the Orden."

Fire assaulted her cheeks. Turning away from them, she covered her mouth but knew they could see the blush. "Um… I… I-I…" she swallowed with difficulty.

"Did you lie?"

"Like a rug," she admitted that part and hoped they would leave it like that.

"But you're a bad liar."

"…" She hoped blinking might do the trick, so she blinked innocence.

Of course Tres spoke, he wouldn't have understood the blinking-to-get-out-of-a-tight-situation. "What did you say?"

"I… I… uh, told him… that… I was his number one fan," she choked out.

The Professor scoffed, "Is that all? Why were you so upset? Although…" He began to rethink the matter. "Why would they keep you alive if you were just a fan? Did you tell them anything else?"

_Why couldn't he be like regular men and just except that? He happens to be the one in a million man that thinks more about what I say, _she sighed mentally. Why bother evading the inevitable much longer? She wasn't a good at weaving stories nor did she like to, so she stopped dancing around the truth. "I… told him… I loved him and that I would stay by his side forever."

Silence met her words. Internally she cried, _No!! Tres say something!! He probably is rethinking all the times I've said that to him. And he probably thinks that I spread my love around like cheap butter._ She ached that she couldn't see his face, to see what he thought of this. It didn't sound too good though. Even William was quiet!

She spun around in her seat quickly and put her head in her arms. Even though her action might have looked strange, it helped her a little bit. "I'm sorry! What would you have done? He caught me looking in his room for the chip! I didn't know what to do." Softer she said, "All I could think about was Tres."

A few moments passed before she felt a solid hand rest on top of her head. In her arms, she smiled, glad that he had gotten over that. "Oh! Tres! Your guns are tied to my waist, can you get them for me? I can't exactly see them at the moment and if I were to accidentally shoot one…"

She didn't have to finish.

"Zelda, your sight will be back but the time we land," the Professor mentioned.

"Thank you. What did you throw, you know, earlier?"

He sucked in a proud breath and she knew what was coming. "It's one of my latest inventions. It causes temporary vision impairment in your enemies."

"So I suppose you and Tres can see?"

"No, Tres-kun can't see either. I had to lead him to the escape pods by holding his arm."

Her next question caught in her throat. He had been blind this whole time too? And yet, he never said a word. Even still, nothing.

William moved onto his next thought. "I wonder why you were able to fool Kain so easily. I also wonder why he and Isaak didn't react in time when you took the chip out of his pocket, grabbed Tres-kun's guns and were able to free him. Even more so when we escaped. Was it because… they _wanted_ us to break him out? But why? Is it because… had we died, the other AX members would have come up here one by one and delay whatever plans they had? Tres-kun, do you know what they're planning to do next?"

No one spoke after he responded, "If Caterina-sama's plan failed, Kain would eliminate the Empress himself."


	17. Chapter 17

"Why- won't- the- radio- work?!" Zelda smashed the two-way repeatedly against the side of the escape pod in frustration. They had landed in some forest-like area somewhere on Earth and had been trying to contact the others for the past two hours.

Tres put a hand on her shoulder, calming her down. She exhaled slowly and asked the inevitable question, "So… what do we do now?"

"…Let's gather some wood and moss to start a fire for now. We'll just have to think of something afterwards," Professor answered as best as he could. "Tres and I will go find sticks, you stay here and keep trying for a response."

She caught Tres' eye but he looked away quickly and followed William. She let her forehead fall to meet the patched earth with a thump, followed by the rest of her body.. Everything was still so… raw between them and it wasn't helpful when he kept changing his stance every few seconds. One minute, he is comforting her and the next he's avoiding her. Sheesh, for a robot he was certainly high maintenance. Of course, he probably thought the same thing about her too.

Clicking down on the two-way's button, she started, "Anyone there? Hello? Hello? Hello? Someone answer. Please. We really need you to answer. Come in. Over. Roger. Roger. I don't even know what I'm saying. Hello? Someone pick up. Please. If you hear me, respond. Hello? He-"

Something stirred in the grass she was laying on. She nervously scanned it but found nothing. After a minute she continued, "Hello? Someone. Anyone. Please answer me. No one is answering. Do you all hate me? Tres hasn't spoken to me since we escaped. He doesn't look at me. He must hate me. And that wouldn't be such a hard thing to believe, he's never verbally said that he loves me. Perhaps that's why he didn't mind shooting me. What if-"

She felt something brush her ear. Startled, she turned her head sideways to stare into the dark, shining eyes of a snake. Unconsciously she screamed, empting her lungs of precious air. His jaw dropped in a hiss, revealing sharp, thin fangs. Moving cautiously now, she tried to put some distance between them, but he hissed once more and recoiled into a defensive position. She waited for a few, long moments before tying to back away again but this time he lashed out. He caught her on the cheek briefly and before she could blink in shock, he was coiled again.

Two narrow lines of warm blood traced from the wound to her jaw. Her breathing ceased in attempt to stay still. She wondered if she were to close her eyes, he would stop finding her a threat and move on. Yet as she tried that, he struck at her again. This time, hitting her less than an inch lower from his previous strike.

Two shots rang out, killing the little serpent instantly and accurately. Zelda lifted her head, seeing her former partner lower his slightly smoking gun and advance towards her. Although Tres was short, to Zelda- who was lying on the ground- he seemed intimidating and just a bit scary. He stopped his stride when he reached her and knelt down.

Unexpectedly, he hugged her- something he had never truly done before. "Negative. I don't hate you," he said as he pressed her face into his shoulder.

Her eyes widened. "You.. how? How did you hear that?"

"William Wordsworth once installed a two-way of that frequency in me."

"…" She made note to have a little chat with the Professor later about what all was in Tres.

"Damage report," he noticed the double twin puncture wounds on her face.

She shook her head. "It must have been a dry bite. Don't worry. I don't really care about it right now." She hugged him back.

"… Zelda Bäcker. I-" She swayed before going limp in his arms. "Damage Report, Zelda Bäcker. … Zelda."

Everything was progressively becoming distorted. Tres' voice had a strange echo to it and the world phased and warped at odd times. _This poison… is… unreal…_ she thought her last coherent thought.

Overhead a large dark object floated above the trees. Its red insignia was painted brightly on the side although nobody had to guess who it was. Leon's rather annoying, taunting voice boomed over a loud speaker, "Does anyone need a ride?"

---

Still a bit unbalanced after the snakebite, Zelda ran down an endless, winding, eerie staircase. Although she shouldn't be here after only receiving the antidote a few hours ago, she had convinced Sister Kate that she was fine. She wanted to protect the Empress as best as her body and mind would allow her.

"_Where would Kain lure her anyway? She can't be that dumb if she's survived for who knows how long," Dandelion asked while the entire AX- save for Abel- was in a group discussion and planning session._

_Caterina hesitated before speaking, "…I know a place. It… was a tomb for another Crusnik. Abel would go there to mourn and… try to bring her back to life. That's the only place that I can think of. I doubt the Empress would know of its location but with her brother out specifically for her blood…there are ways to tell her without arousing suspicion."_

"_Caterina, you and William stay aboard during the fight. The rest of us will protect the Empress," Vaclav said._

"_Yes," Hughe nodded._

"_Absolutely," Zelda smiled weakly._

_The others immediately rose up an argument. "No way, you…"_

All of that disappeared from her mind as she reached the bottom of the stairs. "The… Empress?!!!" She whispered and clutched at the necklace under her dress. Seth Nightlord lay face down- ebony silk hair scattered, pale moonlight skin dirtied- in a pool of blood. Her emerald clothes were stained garnet, her lifeblood spilt over the cold stones in the floor.

Kain took another step towards his sister, "We both know you won't die so easily." He held up his hand. Zelda didn't know what he was doing but she suspected he was going to finish killing her. Overcome with the need to save, she darted in between them just as an explosive blast of air erupted from his hand.


	18. Chapter 18

A flash of onyx and silver swiped across Zelda's vision. Something forced her to the ground and out of the danger zone. She blew her hair out of her face to see what the heavy thing was pinning her down.

"A-Abel-san?!!" she blinked up at the man on top of her.

He was all business, "Zelda-san, get out of here now. You shouldn't even be here."

"But I've got to protect the Empress!"

"Who, me?" a child-like voice called down to them. All three turned to see an unmarked, healthy Seth coming down the stairs. She motioned to the her bleeding double, "Ever since I heard your about your plans to create another me, I have been working on this. It was for a day such as this. I didn't realize you were so helpless without me Kain."

The light blonde Crusnik didn't smile. His nails grew out and colored black, his hair stuck out sharply, his eyes glowed ruby, twin fangs protruded out of his mouth and stunning, pearly wings unfolded from his back. Zelda stared at the sight in awe. He looked like an angel but his face revealed the cruel personality of a devil.

"Even now, in that condition, you still plan to fight us," the lady Crusnik whispered. "So be it… Kain." A great burst of wind erupted, causing the young girl to shield her face and close her eyes. When she could open them and lower her arm, in Seth Nightlord's place was an emerald being with the same colored wings flowing from her back. Her eyes were blood red; in her hands were identical weapons to the Seth Clone's. A distorted snarl rushed past her clenched teeth.

Kain decided to run away and wait for this battle another day, when the odds were in his favor. Up and up he soared, towards the ceiling hundreds of feet above them. Seth flared her wings and pushed off the ground with a tremendous amount of force that shattered the stone under her.

Abel rolled off of her and stood up. Turning his back to her, he commanded, "Get away from here and stay away. This is not a place for you to be in."

"But-"

He transforming into this midnight blue being, he followed after his siblings. She continued to watch as the wind from his take off died down. Slowly, not taking her eyes off the place they disappeared, she got up off the floor. After a moment, she pried her gaze away and ran up the long staircase, racing for the surface.

---

"You!... What's your name again?" Zelda asked the small, blonde vampire that once broke into Caterina's office.

"Ion."

"Ion, if you insist on coming with me then be prepared to take care of yourself."

His face contorted but he managed to bite down on his tongue. The other AX members were off amidst the giant plane of no man's land, fighting Rozen Kreuz vampires. Caterina and the Professor stayed aboard the Iron Maiden, unable to fight physically. Tres, Ion and her were left to provide backup for Abel and the Empress.

The three of them began running across the dusty wasteland straight for the bright multi-colored flashes in the cloudy sky. It was overcast and the clouds were heavy and dark with water and the wind tore right through you, but they continued on.

"T-Tres, if I don't live through this… will you tell me what you were going to say before the poison took affect?" Zelda yelled over the raging wind.

He responded, "This is not the time or place to talk."

She scowled, knowing he was purposefully putting it off. They could be dead by the time to talk would come around. It was too bad though, she _really_ wanted to know what he was planning to tell her. If only that poison hadn't gotten in the way. Of course, if she hadn't been injected with the venom at all, she wouldn't be swaying on her feet right now. She was having trouble keeping it together and look like she was fine at the same time. At the moment, her vision wobbled around and her head was still fuzzy but she managed to run in a straight line.

A small looking figure dropped in their path. Green wings were attached to her back, giving her the ability to fly. The shadow cast over her eyes lifted and she raised her gaze to them. The Seth Impersonator clutched her twin swords and pointed them in Zelda, Tres and Ion's direction. Her voice produced the same innocent sound as the original, "I was sent to defeat you."

The black-eyed girl smirked and added a sarcastic lift to her words. "Hmph, I doubt it. You only _look_ like the Empress but you aren't as nearly as strong as her. You couldn't possibly win against us."

That made her angry in a sense but being young robot with no people experience; she hadn't developed those kinds of mood yet. She did understand that she was being underestimated and compared poorly next to her doppelganger. To show them they were wrong, she focused and let ice form around the mouthy girl's feet.

She jumped back in time and ripped away what ice had stuck to her foot. She chuckled, "See? How pathetic. Right guys?"

Ion caught on first. "Oh yes! I know about her power and that's a sad imitation for it. The Empress has an ice-looking ability but she really melts things. Ha, with that talent you wouldn't be able to kill a fly, let alone us."

The Seth Clone frowned angrily and attacked the little vamp. He leapt to the side and mouthed, "I'll be back" to them before darting away, followed by his new pursuer. They nodded and stared to run again.

Twenty feet into their attempt to get ahead, another enemy blocked their way. This time, the familiar person flicked a stand of purple hair out of his eyes. "I doubt you'll be going any father than this."


	19. Chapter 19

"Kämpher…" Zelda cursed her bad luck.

A thin smile flitted across his pale face. "You cannot imagine how much I have planned this moment. Every time your filthy, unfit hands touched Mien Herr, I pictured this moment. I would first kill the thing you betrayed Mien Herr for, like this-" One of his red skinned demons appeared behind Tres and stabbed him. After ripping free the weapon from his back, the demon tossed him in the air a rag doll.

"TRES!!!" She screamed and ran for him. The demon that had injured her love swung out at her and grazed her cheek. Dark blood immediately began flowing from the deep gash but she clasped a hand to it and stumbled on. Arriving at his side, she dropped to her knees and put her arms around his head. There was a five inch hole straight through his chest and he was having trouble functioning.

"Tres! Tres!" tears mixed in with her blood. "Answer me! Please! After all the times you nearly die, this can't be it! This can't be the end!!"

Because she was too focused on him, Isaak walked up to her and gave her a swift kick to the face. Zelda flew backwards and landed a few feet away, stunned by what happened and how powerful the strike was. Black spots floated in her vision and her head throbbed painfully.

The demon appeared in her swaying coal colored eyes before she could comprehend what was going on. Suddenly it used the end of a spear to shove her onto her stomach and whacked her abdomen as she struggled to get up. Her whole torso constricted and she coughed, trying to breathe. Garnet liquid splattered over her quaking hands and the dusty ground. Her pupils contracted in fear and she gasped for breath.

It turned the spear around and thrust it downwards. She felt something foreign tear through her skin and embed itself in her shoulder before being yanked out fiercely and brutally. A raw scream was emitted from her pain-lined mouth. Her vocal cords rasped out her wordless cry and were crushed into submission as the demon knocked her to the ground.

She forced her arms to push her up a little bit. Because of the blood loss and the effects of the venom still in her veins, Kämpher's image jerked around, her eyes unable to stay still. The only thing she was sure of was that he was striding towards her. He stopped in front of her. She prayed that he wouldn't kick her again. He didn't.

His gloved hand lashed out and caught her by the hair. Raising her face up by her hair, he made sure she could somewhat see his eyes. "I'm about to take your entire world from you. Oh, don't worry; you aren't going to die… yet. I'm just going to steal the life away from that machine you love and you're going to watch helplessly."

"N-no…" her voice cracked quietly as he let her go and turned back to Tres. "N-NO!" She said more strongly this time. He stood over Tres and began to lift his hands. She realized in horror what that ability was. "STOP! PLEASE! STOP IT!!!!"

His demon pushed her back down again. She tried to stand but nothing responded. Gritting her teeth she thought, _Why?! Why won't be body move? Am… am I going to die? Are we both going to die???…_The world slowed down then, as if she suddenly sped up and left them in dust._ I don't want to die yet. I don't want to die yet. No… I wouldn't mind dying if it meant that Tres would live. If Tres would live. But… Tres is dying… and I'm lying here, doing nothing. Tres is dying… Tres is dying… Tres… Tres!… TRES!!!!_

Insane hatred for Kämpher spilled out of the inner depths of her heart and that rage boiled over, giving her energy like none before. It woke her up. Her will forced her numb body to get up and her eyes blazed with renewed ability to fight. Her gray armor surfaced in a second's notice and she struck her clawed hand at his demon, destroying it, before she went after him.

A yellow, pulsing shield blocked her attack. Small wrinkles crinkled around his eyes as he smirked, "You still resort back to that form? Haven't you learned anything new?"

"I've learned this," Zelda dug her claws into the force field and put all of her strength into breaking it apart.

He scoffed but said nothing, watching and waiting for her to give up. But she didn't. Slowly, it began to crack like a spider web. She shoved her feet into the dirt so she could have some leverage as she pulled. Her forearms burned like someone had set fire to them and she was beginning to become zapped of her strength. Breathing heavily, she let go of the shield and rammed her stone heel at its weakest point.

"What?!" he yelled as his defense broke and he went flying into the sand covered battleground. He turned his face upwards at her as she walked to him calmly. A corner of his bloody mouth uplifted, "So, you're going to kill me to get revenge on your robot?"

The armor plates disappeared under her skin. As normal Zelda she replied, "No. I'm not. Even though many people say it, this statement is true: 'I won't sink to your level'. And I won't be twisted into killing you either. I'm my own free person. Personally, as much as I don't like you- I could never kill you. I could never kill anything. Besides, I don't want another sin burdening my mind, my soul, my heart and my life. But since I can't leave you conscious either…" She clenched her first and sucker punched him as hard as her body would allow.

She turned away from him before his body hit the ground. Racing to Tres, she collapsed next to him and reached for his hand. "Tres… please be alright…" she whispered.

Ion appeared then, a little worse for wear but alive. He crouched down next to them. "What happened?"

"Kämpher did this to him. …Why is there the Rozen Kreus Orden? Why did they have to do this to Tres? Why???" She wept and leaned over her former _tovares_.

The blonde vampire looked up, "Abel once told me what happened. He told me everything about his brother, why he went evil, what he has done and more. He told me his whole life story. He told me for the purpose of understanding what the real situation was."

Zelda's tears stopped and she met his eyes, "Tell me everything. Now."


	20. Chapter 20

Forcing herself to leave Tres, she pushed her way through the raging wind and slippery sand. Using her arm as a shield from the airborne grains of dirt, she soldiered on. Abel, Seth and Kain were preparing for the final strike. On three different mountains of eroded rock, they stood, gathering all their power to use in the last blow. Zelda's path lie with the closet one, the one Abel was on top of.

Finally reaching the stone tower, she tied to take a hold of an edge she could grip but the rock was so weathered down she couldn't climb up. Taking a deep breath, she thought back and remembered the anguish and anger she felt when Tres was stabbed. Feeling a tiny surge of the armor under her skin, she focused on her hands and let it transform her fingers into impenetrable claws. She thrust them into the structure and dragged her body upwards.

Perching herself on a small ledge near the top; she physically couldn't get any closer than that. She could see Abel very clearly though. Shouting at the top of her voice she called, "Abel! I know you can hear me! Even if you can't or won't say anything, you had better listen! …Ion told me! He told me everything about Kain and you and Seth and… Lillith-san."

He obviously could hear her because his head jerked slightly at the name.

Zelda continued, "No matter what Kain has done, wouldn't it break Lillith-san's heart if you killed him??! You know that she would be said if she knew that. She still loves him even though he took her life!! Her love wouldn't dry up like that! Hatred would never appear in her heart- you know that! She wasn't that type of person! And yes, she is a person just like you, Seth and Kain!

"When you were younger, you said to Ion that you had unfathomable anger for humans, just like Kain. And look at you now! You were given a second chance! What about him?! He wasn't given one! Don't say that he had a thousand years to repent because he never had anyone to show him how to heal the rift of hate in his heart. So, what will you choose to do? Will you kill him and break Lillith-san's heart? Or will you choose to forgive, help and heal your brother so he can have another chance at life?!!!"

The moments when Abel was thinking felt like an eternity inching by. After forever, he quietly murmured, "I… will forgive. I will forgive… my brother." He reverted back from his Crusnik form and began to fall back, unconscious. Her mind did a double take as she realized a 6 foot something and two hundred pound man was going to crush her.

She stretched out her arms (rather stupidly) and he hit her chest. All of his force and acceleration transferred to her, pushing her back and causing her feet to slip off the ledge. Freefalling through the air with nothing to catch you, slow you down and someone in your arms was not a pleasant adventure. Zelda clutched Abel's head tighter so her body would take the hit. Squeezing her eyes shut, she prepare for the impact.

Instead of feeling the solid ground she felt two metal-hard arms close around her. Her head tilted back in surprise, "T-Tres?!!" His systems couldn't operate any longer and they all crashed to the ground, Zelda landing on top of his chest and Abel still in her arms. The pain under her and the weight above her was enough to make her groan loudly.

Painstakingly, she rolled them into a position where she could fling Tres over her shoulder and carry Abel under the other arm. She trudged along that way for a good mile, making a sane person wonder how she managed that. She wasn't using her armored strength and she had been injured previously, yet here she was dragging along six hundred odd pounds out of sheer will.

Her labored breathing woke up Kämpher when she passed him. He stared up at the sky line behind her in shocked, "…Mien Herr…" He swiveled his head around, "You'll pay for this! We'll be back! Just wait and see!" He disappeared and she looked back for the first time since the mountain. The sky was calm. She hadn't realized the wind stopped shortly after her silver haired friend fainted. Obviously Seth and Kain hadn't finished the fight because she would have felt the aftereffects of it. So… what happened?

Zelda heard a moan a few feet away and she noticed Ion, regaining consciousness after a gun jab to the head (she could spot Tres' handiwork anywhere). His ruby eyes fluttered and he lightly touched the bruising wound.

"Ion-kun… are you all right?"

"Yes… wait, why are you calling me 'kun'?"

"Well, during the battle I wasn't in the position to use titles and now I can."

"No I meant why 'kun'?"

"You're younger than me aren't y-"

He interrupted her, "Zelda-san! You're carrying both of them?!!" He finally noticed. Jumping up, he took Abel from her, "I'm sorry, that must have difficult."

"Eh," she grunted, unable to exert anymore extra energy. The world shuddered and the ground rushed up to meet her.

---

"Heh, they'll be fine. Zelda's wound looks bad but her armor is already taking care of it. Tres' wiring will need patching up and the holes covered but he'll be running normally soon. While Abel is just sleeping," William's voice echoed in her ear.

"He made me carry him all the way here because he was sleeping?" she muttered groggily.

She could hear the grin in Leon's voice, "Kid, you have the worst of luck… but you happen to be the luckiest person I know."

A smile crept up on her face. "Yeah." Opening her eyes, she sprang up and ran over to the bed next to her in the first aid room on the Iron Maiden. Ignoring the fact that everyone standing right by her, she leaned down and hugged Tres.

His lips formed words and she had to strain to hear his soft spoken, "Zelda… I love… you."

For the second during that day, she started to cry. She choked, "I love you too Tres." Bending down, she gave him a kiss.

"…What's this?" Caterina asked, dumbfounded.

Zelda pulled away, "Er…" She had forgotten that the ex-Cardinal knew nothing about their relationship.

"It doesn't matter to you now Caterina-san," Abel sat up, silver strands of hair falling across his eyes. "It matters to me however, if this means you'll be too busy being all googly-eyed at each other instead of making me some of your wonderful cookies!"

Seth Nightlord entered the first aid room. "They told me how you have grown to love to eat Abel-nii-san, but I wouldn't have believed it until I heard it with my own ears."

"Hey! How did you stop fighting without making any noise?"

Ion spoke before anyone else could, "She was waiting for Abel-san's signal but when she saw his power cut off, she decided to forget about Kain."

"Hey, you need to wait you turn!" Dandelion reprimanded the little vampire boy. "Right Hughe?"

Sword Dancer turned away and left the room.

"…Right Vaclav?"

"I'm not going to get into this argument."

"What about you Professor? You of all people will agree with me!"

He stuck his pipe in his mouth, "I think I'll side with Vaclav and sit this one out."

"EH?!"

The black eyed girl glanced at her red haired robot and clasped his hand, "It looks like our family has grown some. But that doesn't matter, as long as I am with you; I have everything that I need." Hesitantly, a smile tinged his lips of the smallest fraction. It was a true miracle.

The End

(Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who read along during this story! Thank you for your reviews and thank you that none of you sent me death threats. - I hope you enjoyed the sequel!)


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